Coherent has introduced its first, fibre-delivered 1kW direct diode laser system for industrial applications. In a highly reliable design based on closed-loop cooling, the HighLight 1000F offers a flexible, mobile solution for today's industrial applications. Specifically, the new HighLight 1000F is a high brightness system that produces 1kW of output at 975nm from a 600µm core fibre having a numerical aperture of 0.22.
The primary applications for the HighLight 1000F are welding, cladding and heat treating of a wide range of metals and alloys. The fibre coupling allows the kW power to be delivered directly to the work piece – either 180° around a part or at angles. The laser system can even be placed up to 50 metres from the application. The compact design makes the HighLight 1000F ideal for robotic applications; in addition, existing accessories such as double focus heads, welding heads, and cutting heads can easily be adapted to Coherent's system – saving time when migrating to this new, low cost technology. For manufacturing environments where multiple workstations are deployed, the HighLight 1000F is well suited to beam switching.
The HighLight 1000F is based on Coherent's proprietary, high reliability micro-channel cooled diode laser bar technology that typically provides more than 20,000 hours of operation with virtually no maintenance. The unit offers up to 30 per cent electrical to optical efficiency.